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Casting my eyes around the room, I notice Bennet is watching me. I see dying didn't make him any less observant.
“At what point did you injure your hand?”
“At the hospital,” I admit. “I…had a moment.”
Bennet tips his chin in understanding. “Well, as long as we're all fixed up now, right?”
Hmm. I don't know about that.
“You still don't trust him, do you?” Six asks patiently.
“If anything, I'm more worried than I was before,” I admit.
“Worried about what?” Bennet asks as Micah is removing the electrodes from his head and body.
Taking a deep breath and rolling my shoulders, I pull a chair over. Other than Micah, who has a reason to be standing, I'm the only one still pacing around like a lunatic.
Resting my elbows on my knees, I consider my words.
“In no way do I want to undermine what Dr. Franks has done to help us, or diminish his importance to all of us being in this room-living and breathing, as it were. We absolutely would not be here without him, and I am acutely aware of that.”
“Okay, but…” Bennet gestures for me to continue.
“It's because he is a truly good guy and a good doctor that I'm worried. I watched his reaction when Jackson revealed his healed leg. It was a miracle playing out before his very eyes.”
“And how could he not want to use that medical miracle to save other lives,” Bennet states plainly, finishing my thought. He gets it.
“Exactly. And once he sees it brought you back from the dead…”
Bennet is nodding thoughtfully, and I'm extra appreciative to have him back in this moment. He and I had really built a bond over being cynical and realistic, even if it came slowly.
“You're right,” he says. “Although honestly, I'm not sure what to do about it. I'll need to give it some thought.”
“He'll be here in the morning,” says Lukas. “He's going to stop in and check on us all, and bring some supplies. And help make…arrangements for the body.”
My hackles go up again. I really don’t want him here right now. “What supplies would we need at this point? As far as he's aware, everyone is healed and Bennet is dead.”
“It's for me,” says Jackson. “I, um…I usually take daily medication to help me with depression and anxiety. I lost track of it when everything went down, and not having it, on top of everything that's happened, has put me in a tough spot.”
Six actually lets go of Bennet for a moment to hug Jackson.
“You take medication for depression?” Micah asks, surprised. “Not that there's anything wrong with that, that's not what I meant. I just mean that you seem so…chipper all the time.”
Chipper?
“I'm glad Dr. Franks is coming through for you,” I say. “I'm sorry, I didn't know. The way I acted in the hospital—”
“Was completely understandable,” interrupts Jackson. “And my behavior didn't help.”
“What are they talking about?” I hear Bennet ask Micah.
“Oh, they almost fought. Luis looked like he was going to pull a Firestarter on Dr. Franks, and Jackson squared up to him. I'm not going to lie, other than not wanting to see my brothers fight like that, I was pretty impressed with Jackson. Luis was terrifying.”
Six is nodding in agreement, a little shiver passing over her. I can't decide if I want to roll my eyes or continue asking for forgiveness.
“I'm not proud of how I lost control,” I tell them.
“Dude, you were scary as a mofo, and there is no way I would have tried to start shit if I was in my right mind. It was my fault, too.”
